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Memphis protesters hurl bricks and rocks at police, wounding 24 officers in outcry over a man’s death

At least 24 officers and deputies were injured in the melee, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Thursday morning. Six of them were taken to a hospital.

The turmoil came after US marshals shot and killed a man Wednesday night in north Memphis, the mayor said.

Marshals were trying to stop the man, who was wanted on multiple warrants, outside a home as the man was getting into a vehicle, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

The man “reportedly rammed his vehicle into the officers’ vehicles multiple times before exiting with a weapon,” the bureau said. “The officers fired striking and killing the individual. No officers were injured.”

The suspect has not been publicly identified. But news of his death spread quickly as protesters hurled rocks at police, tore down a concrete wall outside a business and smashed the windows of squad cars and a fire station.

In addition to the 24 wounded officers, two journalists were also injured, the mayor said.

But he lauded the composure of the officers as they became targets of attack.

“I was proud of our first responders,” the mayor said. “I’m impressed by their professionalism and incredible restraint as they endured concrete rocks being thrown at them and people spitting at them.”